FARMING MATTERS: It's countryside Oscar season

The winners of all the awards (there are four categories including local food, village shop/post office, butcher and tourism enterprise) will be announced at the House of Lords in April.

Customers nominated the Egg House Charcuterie in Haddenham and The Pointer in Brill and they are among the final ten in the butcher category.

Countryside Alliance Awards director Jill Grieve said: “The finalists are all exceptional. We have been overwhelmed by nominations this year, so for the Egg House and The Pointer butchers to get this far is a huge achievement for them.

“The secret to the Rural Oscars’ popularity is that they honour the people involved in these businesses and not just their produce or services. They exist to sing the praises of those who work hard to keep our communities and rural economy ticking, but don’t seek the spotlight.

“The Egg House and The Pointer butchers staff are very good examples of all that’s best about local businesses. We are delighted to offer this platform to enable people to say thank you to them for all they contribute and we look forward to seeing them in April.”